Shirt collar



B. M. RENZI SHIRT COLLAR June 21, 1955 Filed Sept. 11, 1953 United States Patent 40 SHIRT COLLAR Bernard M. Renzi, Cranston, R. I.

Application September 11, 1953, Serial No. 379,514

1 Claim. (Cl. 2116) This invention relates to shirts, and more particularly has reference to a garment of this type having a novelly designed collar, the ends of which areadapted to be turned under and held in place against the body of the shirt, in such a manner as to impart a neat, attractive appearance to the collar when the shirt is being worn.

The invention is particularly adapted to use on that type of shirt having thereon a roll collar, that is, a collar the end edges of which are extended along generally curving lines toward the body of the shirt, such a collar usually having long ends or tabs and having the ends diverging widely to provide a spread collar effect.

Heretofore, in collars of the nature described above, it has been somewhat difficult to maintain the collar tabs or ends in neat positions, in which positions they will remain throughout the length of time that the shirt is being worn. Accordingly, it is one important object of the present invention to provide means associated with the collar ends and with the body of the shirt, that is specifically adapted to anchor the ends of the collar in place against the body of the shirt, thereby to preserve the neat appearance of the shirt collar.

It is recognized that heretofore, button-down collars have been common, for anchoring the ends of a shirt collar to the body of a shirt. However, the present invention differs from collars of this type, in that the collar end, equipped with a button hole adapted to receive a button on the body of the shirt, is first turned under and then secured to the button, the turning under of the collar ends being adapted to impart a regular, uniformly curved appearance to the end edges of the collar, found particularly desirable in the case of roll collars.

Another object of importance is to provide a shirt collar as stated wherein, instead of a hold-down button, there can be utilized ornamental jewelry or the like, secured to the shirt body to improve the appearance of the same.

A further object of importance is to provide a shirt collar wherein the buttons carried by the shirt body are spaced a substantially shorter distance from the neck band of the collar than are the button holes, the particular spacing of the button and button holes being adapted to insure the shaping of the collar ends to the desired curvature when they are turned under during wearing of the shirt.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claim appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a shirt equipped with a collar formed in accordance with the present invention, a portion of said collar being broken away; and

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 in which the collar is shown as it appears prior to turning under the collar ends and engagement of the buttons in the button holes.

The reference numeral generally designates a shirt having a body 11 and a collar 12. The collar 12 is, in

2,710,969 Patented June 21, 1955 the illustrated example of the invention, permanently attached to the shirt, but the collar could, if desired, be of the detachable type without departing from the spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

The collar 12 preferably is provided with a bound or welt edge 14, to reinforce the same along the edges thereof, and at the points of the tabs of the collar end there is provided a button hole 16 adapted to receive a button 18 anchored to the shirt body 11.

It is important to note that the buttons 18 are disposed a relatively short distance below the neck band 19 of the collar, said distance being substantially less than the distance between the button hole 16 and said neck band (see Figure 2). By reason of this arrangement, it is merely necessary that the collar end be folded under along a line 20, after which the folded-under part, having the button hole 16, is anchored to the button 18. When the folded portion is anchored to the button in this manner, the end edge of the tab will be given a curvature as shown in Figure 1, with the curvature being continued along the fold line 20 and the tab. The arrangement thus results in a roll collar, of the spread type, thereby increasing measurably the versatility of the shirt collar when worn.

It will be noted that Figure 2 merely shows the collar before the tabs thereof are turned under.

It is understood that if desired, the fold line 20 could be heavily ironed, so as to cause the collar to lie flat against the shirt body, even when the tab is secured to the button 18. In such instances, the tab could be so cut relative to the remaining part of the collar as to be concealed effectively behind the main or body portion of the collar.

It is also thought to be of importance that the button hole 16 extends along a line paralleling the lower or longitudinal edge of the collar, the line along which said button hole extends being disposed at an acute angle to the end edge of the tab as best shown in Figure 2. By

this arrangement, when the tab is folded under as in Figure 1, the button hole will extend broadside to the line of force exerted by the natural resilience thereof. In other words, the folding under of a tab of the collar results, in effect, in a spring member, said spring member tending to exert pressure in a direction outwardly from the neck band 19. The button hole 16, disposed broadside to the line of force, prevents movement of the folded portion, and holds the shirt collar in a stationary position against the shirt body 11.

The invention prevents the collar tabs from turning up or rolling upwardly in a manner that would make ones appearance untidy. Further, when ornamental jewelry is used, the plain appearance generally characteristic of conventional collars is eliminated. Still further, the invention makes for a better appearance in collars of the spread or wide type. The collar will not wrinkle as much near the shoulder portion due to the fold that extends from this location.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a shirt, a shirt body, a collar on said body, said collar comprising an inner section and an outer section, said inner section constituting a band having an upper 3 edge, said outer section having an upper edge, a fold connecting .said .upper edges, said outer section being wider than said band and having a lower edge reaching below said band and disposed at a declining angle relative to the band, said-outer section "being discontinuous so as to-define a vertical edge, said vertical edge and an adjacent portion'of said loweredgedntersecting each other and defining a tab, the material of said outersection in the region of the intersection of said vertical and lower edges defininga point on said tab, an elongated button hole in said tab point, said button hole extending along said lower edge and being closeto said lower edge and having an end close to said vertical edge, said point being folded upwardly and toward said band, and a button fixed on the shirt body below said band at an elevation above .that occupied .by .the tab point and .the button hole in an unfolded condition of the tab, the button hole being engaged over the button with the tab point spaced downwardly from said band.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

